3 arrested in prostitution sting

PRESCOTT - The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office partnered with several other agencies on Sunday, Aug. 23, to arrest three men alleged to be about to pay for sex with prostitutes, some of which were posing as minors, according to YCSO spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn.

The contacts were made via the Internet, and took place in the area of the Village of Oak Creek.

"After the suspects initiated contact in response to a notice from an Internet publication, they made arrangements to meet the 'prostitutes,' actually undercover law enforcement officers, in a specified Yavapai County motel room," D'Evelyn said. "The team of combined law enforcement officers apprehended these men who, even with knowledge some of the 'prostitutes' were legally considered children, still intended to exploit them anyway through paid sex acts."

The three arrested were:

 Luigi Galea, 30, from Flagstaff. He was charged with one count of engaging in child prostitution, a felony, and one count of engaging in prostitution, a misdemeanor, by soliciting two law enforcement officers posing as

17- and 20-year-old prostitutes. He has since been released on a $25,000 bond.

 Jefferson Perales, 28, from Sedona, was arrested for engaging in child prostitution, a felony, by soliciting a law enforcement officer posing as a 16-year-old prostitute. He has since been released on a $25,000 bond.

 Sankar Gurusamy, 40, from Utah was arrested for arrested for one count of engaging in prostitution, a misdemeanor, by soliciting one law enforcement officer posing as an adult prostitute that he believed to be 19 years of age. He remains in custody on a $5,000 bond.

YCSO conducted the operation with help from Prescott Police, Cottonwood Police, the Gang Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission task force of the Department of Public Safety, Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT), and the Department of Homeland Security, D'Evelyn said.